On a Clear Day
by TangledOasis
Summary: Kagome's a dance major starting her second year in college. Inuyasha is a junior and a business major. And when they're picked as partners in Kagome's ballroon dance class, they must learn to work together if they are going to survive the semester. inukag
1. That First Class

It was a brisk, bright September morning as Kagome happily stepped onto campus the first day of her sophomore year in college. Students milled about, chatting with friends, swapping summer stories, or grabbing a quick bite before hurrying off to classes. Several freshmen appeared lost or nervous, even though most of them had been there for a week. Kagome just smiled. She remembered all too well her first day of actual classes last year, and how big the campus felt that first week.

As the wind stirred her bangs, Kagome took a deep breath.

_There's just something about a college campus,_ she mused contentedly. Sure, like any other student, she looked forward to the freedom that summer unleashed, but she had always loved school and learning. She liked having things to do and being around so many of her peers.

Kagome quickly strode towards the Fine Arts part of campus. After working her ass off, she made the cut for the Dance Major, and couldn't wait to get started. After all, who wouldn't want to spend thirty-plus hours a week in a dance studio working gruelingly towards perfection?

"I can't believe you talked me into this, Miroku." Inuyasha Takahashi crossed his arms, thoroughly annoyed with his best friend.

"Aw, come on, man; think of all the exercise you'll be getting!" Miroku's mind was not on exercise, however, as he waved rather idiotically at a particularly lovely woman the two passed. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes, too irritated at knowing Miroku to bother catching him in his blatant lie.

As the pair entered the studio, both were surprised. A fairly proportional group of girls and guys stood around the bleachers, opposite the giant mirrors that spanned one entire wall, nearly to the ceiling, of the square room. A few students stretched at the bars along the walls perpendicular to the mirrors, which were obviously meant to be the front of the studio, and a few others were fixing their hair or makeup in the mirror.

Inuyasha had to admit; there was something about dancers that was almost like a drug.

"Still hate me?" Miroku jabbed at his friend, following the direction of his eyes. Inuyasha threw a vague punch in Miroku's direction, which he easily ducked, sniggering evilly.

Before Miroku could finish his teasing, or Inuyasha could resume his analysis of Concrete Angel, something ran into him. Hard.

Inuyasha stumbled to his knees from the force of the blow and Miroku was slammed against the wall as two very winded girls rushed around a corner and through the doorway Miroku and Inuyasha had occupied moments before.

"What the HELL-"

"Hey Kagome!" A girl across the room waved to one of the breathless women, now standing by the bleachers. "You were almost late! Shame, shame."

Kagome and the girl next to her giggled. "Hey, Rin! We were looking for you!"

The girl, Rin, laughed and sent a wink their way.

"OI! Wench! Watch you're going!"

Kagome turned, giving the two guys their first good look at her. Her obsidian black hair was wild and wind-strewn and fell in waves to the middle of her back. Flushed cheeks brought a very alive spark to her face, and her cerulean eyes shone like the deeper pools of the Caribbean Sea before an early summer hurricane. Her scruffy bangs framed her heart-shaped face, softening and smoothing. Her body was long and lean, obviously belonging to a dancer. She was truly magnificent.

Inuyasha wasn't sure why, but his heart skipped a beat.

Kagome, on the other hand, was not taking kindly t her new nickname. "Excuse me?" Miroku saw womanly wrath unfurling beneath her falsely polite smile.

"You heard me, bitch," Inuyasha said the only thing that came to his mind. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the most intelligent decision he ever made.

Miroku just sighed. _And the numbskull wonders why he has so few friends._

Kagome had officially reached the status of a "woman scorned." And she was definitely rising to Inuyasha's challenge. She was just taking a more… feminine approach.

Fixing a too sweet smile on her face, she sauntered towards the two boys, adding a very sultry sway to her shapely hips. By now, every other person in the room was watching the scene unfold.

Kagome stopped squarely in front of the now upright Inuyasha. Miroku was certain she was going to simply haul off and smack him silly. What she did in actuality had him completely floored.

"Ya know, you're really cute!" she cooed in a sickeningly sweet voice. "What was your name?"

"Inu- Inuyasha," he mumbled, staring at her like she had just turned purple with green polka dots. Miroku could honestly say he had never seen ANYONE react this way to Inuyasha's temper. Both guys were so absorbed in their shock neither noticed Kagome's hands stealthily slithering towards the furry triangular ears perched atop Inuyasha's cascading waterfall of silver hair. She reached them uninhibited, grasping them gently between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. She slowly began to rub in slow, soft circles.

"Ooo, your ears are so soft," she murmured soothingly. Inuyasha, at this point, was so stunned by all of this girl's unexpected actions that he didn't know how to react and his youkai blood chose give into the warm gooey-ness in the pit of his stomach cause by the attention. He was pulled from this warmth when he felt Kagome give a little pinch and slight yank to the sensitive (and oh so cute!) ears. Inuyasha immediately pulled his ears from her grasp and plastered a defiant smug look on his face.

"Call me bitch again," she cooed again in that falsely sugary voice. "And I will personally remove your little ears. I don't care how cute they are."

By the time she stopped talking, Kagome had dropped all sweet pretenses and her true rage was etched into every angle of her face and made her eyes shine like sapphires on a white background.

Inuyasha just flashed his famous smirk at her, trying to ignore the way is heart sped up under her intense gaze. "Is that a threat, wench?"

"One thing you will learn very quickly about me, Inuyasha, is that I don't make threats. I make promises." She turned, putting quick distance between them. "And my name is Kagome, Pooch. Ka-Go-Me, got it?"

"Ahem."

All heads turned towards the new voice. The professor had entered the studio and likely seen most of the carnage. She was tall, athletically built, with a heavy air of no nonsense. At first, Inuyasha thought she could have been Kagome's doppelganger, but here were definite differences. Her long, straight ebony black hair was securely tied into a low ponytail, and her body was perfectly toned. To Inuyasha, her face reminded him of a song title he heard once: Concrete Angel. Her face was a light crème, and smooth and set as porcelin. Her eyes were chilling dark sepia: cold, withdrawn, and calculating. She had a superior air about her that drew attention in the subtlest of ways. She was not a woman to be reckoned with.

She surveyed them all even as they regarded her. Without another word, she strode purposefully towards the large mirrors. In ones and twos, students followed her. Inuyasha and Miroku joined the crowd. The students had silently gathered in a semi-circle around her, either on the floor or leaning against the bar. The two uncertain guys stuck to the wall, feeling as though they were outsiders who had stumbled on the initiation ceremony of some sort of secret society. Which, in a way, they had.

"Welcome to Ballroom Dance 310." She surveyed them again, like specimen under a microscope. "Who here is majoring in Dance this year?"

More than half the class raised their hands, including Kagome, the girl she came in with, and that other girl Rin.

"That's most of you. So I assume you know this course is required. Now for the rest of you," Inuyasha and Miroku exchanged a look as she looked at all the non-dance majors in turn. "This is not an easy A. I will work you into the ground. If you can't dedicate to this course the way you need to in order to not fail, I suggest you see your counselor immediately. I will not tolerate slack or lack of discipline in my studio. Your personal lives are for your time. In here, you are on my time. And believe me, if you are going to pass the final, you will need all the help and instruction I will give you." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. Then she turned towards the mirror, gazing at her class's reflection. "Now, shall we begin?"


	2. Quick Anger and Suspicion

"Miss Higurashi, please stay for a moment at the end of class. I would like to have a word with you."

Kagome sighed. "Of course, Professor."

As the other students all filed out, Kagome took her time packing up. Sango and Rin passed her, saying they'd meet her at their favorite lunch spot. She waved them off, taking a swig from her water bottle as the last group of students left.

When they were alone in the studio, Kikyo approached her.

"How are you, sweetie?" Most would have been surprised by the care and concern in the stern teachers voice, but Kagome merely smiled.

"I'm ok, you know you don't have to always worry about me."

Kikyo waved her hand dismissively. "Big sister's prerogative."

Kagome just laughed.

Kikyo eyed her little sister. "So, what was that little dramatic event I walked in on earlier?"

"Ha, oh that. Well," Kagome nervously rubbed the back of her head while she spoke. "Sango and I thought we were going to be late so we were running and I kinda ran into him. I didn't even see him, and I thought I apologized but I guess not, and when he went off on me about it… Well I guess I just sorta lost it."

Kikyo quirked an eyebrow. "I noticed."

"Sorry Sis, I didn't mean to cause a scene but, well…"

"It's ok Kagome, just please don't do it again."

"Oh no, don't worry I won't. I promise." Kagome paused, before asking the question they both knew was coming. "Kikyo, what are we going to do?"

Kikyo didn't answer.

"I mean I tried to get a different professor so we didn't run into this dilemma, but you're the only professor for this course this semester, and I need this course out of the way now since it's a prerequisite for most of the rest of my major."

"Kagome, I already talked to the dean." Kagome nodded, waiting for her to continue. "He said I should just treat you like another student. He understands why this had to be. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried about positive special attention. I'm worried about the opposite, in fact."

"You're worried that I'll be harder on you than the other students because you're my sister."

"Exactly."

"Don't be. I won't go easy on you, but I won't make this semester even harder on you than it already will be."

Kagome gave a nervous laugh.

"Kagome, you know this class is based largely on effort. The Final is choreographing a piece with your assigned partner, and I can't imagine you not passing."

She paused. "This semester might be a challenge. The class is fairly evenly split between Majors and Non-majors. I think what I may end up doing is partnering a Major with a Non-major. That way, it's fair."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah that would make sense."

"In the meantime, little sister, get yourself to lunch before your girls think I murdered you."

Kagome giggled. "Oh geez, so many of the students are so scared of you."

"What can I say, I worked hard for my reputation."

Kagome grabbed her bag, gave her sister a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, and ran out the door laughing.

Kikyo just smiled. "I love you too, Kagome."

Inuyasha wanted to kill something. Preferably Miroku. Or maybe that Kagome girl.

_Yeah right. _He sighed. He could never hurt a girl. He just couldn't believe she had _touched_ his ears. And worst of all, he had liked it. Something about the way she had rubbed them had been really nice. Still, it irked him that she dared touch him like that. That was something that only a mate was allowed to do. It was just that intimate.

His mind started to turn into some weird moment of pondering what it would be like to have a mate. He let the daydreams flow until he realized he was again picturing Kagome's touch on his ears. Striving to drive _that_ thought train from his head, he returned to the observation he had been pondering throughout most of the class. Why did Kagome and the professor look so alike? True enough, they were also different as could be. Kagome's face was alive and expressive. Kikyo's was stern and set. But they had almost identical features. If the two walked side by side, anyone would have thought they were twins. They even smelled similar.

He jumped about a mile when Miroku crashed into his room. Inuyasha immediately returned to his murderous mood from earlier.

"Inuyasha, your brother called. He said something about some meeting and if you were late, bye-bye internship?"

"Oh crap." Now Inuyasha _really_ needed to kill something. Only now the intended target was his brother. "Miroku I need to borrow your car."

"Why?"

"Because mine is in the shop for servicing and I need to leave _now_."

"But, my baby!! And with the way you drive-" Inuyasha growled like a creature of hell. "Be gentle, I just got her detailed." He sighed as he held out the keys.

Inuyasha snatched them hopped over the couch, and bounded out the door with a simple "Feh." Miroku sighed again.

Kagome rolled her eyes. Rin was going on and on about this mystery boyfriend of hers. She and Sango privately agreed it was all in her head, or at least they hoped it was. Rin had classically bad luck when it came to picking guys, and she always ended up getting hurt. Plus this guy sounded way too good to be true. There had to be something wrong with him.

But of course, neither were about to tell Rin that.

"And so then, after dinner, we went for a long walk in the park downtown and ate ice cream in this cute little parlor at the edge of the square." Rin let out a contented sigh.

"So Rin, when are we going to meet this dream guy?" Sango asked bemusedly.

"Oh well, he says he doesn't want to go public yet, so we'll just have to wait and see. I really do want you two to meet him though, so I hope soon." Rin glanced at her watch. "And if I don't leave right now I'll miss my Macroeconomics lecture. See you two lovely ladies later!"

As the door slammed, Kagome looked over to where Sango sat, a dark look etched into her stunning and exotic face.

"So, what do you think?"

Sango grunted. "I don't know. Sounds pretty bad though. 'He doesn't want to go public yet?' I mean, how dense is she? That screams either player or married."

"Yeah that's a definite possibility." Kagome shook her head sadly. "I love Rin to death, but she is so blind when it comes to this stuff."

"If this guy is using her, I'll break his neck."

Kagome sighed. "Sango-"

"Oh come _on_, Kagome! Remember Hakudoshi?"

Kagome shuddered. "Of course I remember that asshole, Sango. I was as much of a shoulder for her as you were."

"And you'll let her hurt herself all over again? Do you remember how we had to coax her to eat _anything_? She was practically _killing_ herself, Kagome! She wasn't eating, drinking, sleeping, or even talking. Are you really willing to watch her go through that all over again?"

"No Sango, I'm not," Kagome answered quietly. "But for now, we can't just jump to conclusions about this guy."

"Why not?" Sango was practically growling now, which meant Kagome had to stay very calm in order to prevent Sango from seriously blowing her lid.

"Because I honestly think she's afraid to introduce us to him."

"What?" Sango was surprised into momentarily letting go of her anger.

"I hear what you're saying Sango, and I'm by no means saying you're wrong. But I think she might also be afraid of us disapproving. She knows we'll be naturally suspicious and she's afraid we might try to intimidate him. Or pressure her into ending it."

Sango let Kagome's words sink in. "So what should we do in the meantime?"

"Leave her alone about it and let the chips fall where they may. For now."

" I still say we should break his neck if he does anything to hurt her."

"I agree, but for now let's just hang back and see how things work out."

Kagome stared at her ceiling, listening to the radio and replaying the day in her mind. For some reason, she just couldn't get that guy from her dance class out of her head.

He had intrigued her as soon as she turned around to see whom he was yelling at. She had known instantly that he was a Youkai, or at least a Hanyou, but that didn't seem very important. She remembered being instantly stunned by his waist-length silver hair, and his tall, well-toned figure. His face had been alive with passionate, quick anger, which served to let her admire the strong set of his jaw and the way his eyes could pierce right into her soul. She had felt glued to the spot when his eyes met hers. And those eyes… If she could have, she would have melted into them. Like two pools of liquid golden amber, they sparkled with anger, intelligence, and mystery. And just like a cherry on top of a perfect cake, he had _dog-ears!_ Kagome seriously could have died. The furry triangular appendages kept twitching slightly, inspiring an unstoppable urge to touch them.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she'd known he was inspecting her as well.

She still couldn't believe she'd grabbed his ears, though. Her mind was screeching at her to stop, that to touch them was an unspeakable offense among demons, that it was too personal, that she shouldn't incur a demon's wrath, especially an Inu-youkai. But it was as though her hands were drawn magnetically and she couldn't stop them, even if she'd tried. She had been so surprised when she heard a low rumbling in his chest. Only with the noise did awareness return. There she was, standing in the middle of a dance studio, practically groping a demon, and not just any demon, but an Inu demon no less, and he was _purring_. On top of all this, she was very much the center of attention.

_Oops._ Unsure of what to do, she broke the moment and managed to cover her actions. But she regretted it. She regretted losing the look in his eyes. It had somehow seemed… right. But of course, hindsight is 20-20, and the past is past. No use mourning it.

She shook her head. This train of thought wasn't helping her study her chemistry chapter. And right now, school was the most reliable thing in her life.


	3. Second Chance, Second Failure

Kagome took a deep breath. Day 2 of her Ballroom class, which meant she and Inuyasha would once again come face to face.

_Great. Just freaking dandy._

"Sango? Rin? You two ready to go?"

"Yeah, hang on, girl. Just need to fill up my water bottle." Sango came rushing out of her room clutching her dance bag and a Nalgene bottle.

"Where's Rin?"

Sango shrugged. "She was out late last night with that guy again. She probably slept right through her alarm."

Kagome stalked over to Rin's room, pounding on the door. "Rin Yamoto, wake get your butt out her this second! We're going to be late!"

No answer. Kagome let herself in. She was immediately greeted by a disaster. The bedroom looked like it had been visited by both an earthquake and a hurricane at the same time.

_We only moved in 5 days ago. How can her room be this bad already?_

After glancing around, she located a small pile, which seemed to be dance clothes. Kagome dug through until she found a pair of dance tights, spandex, and a tank top. She took a very deep breath, meditating on it for a moment, noticing how peaceful Rin looked, how content. She hadn't seen that look since before Hakudoshi had broken her heart. Too bad class started in 15 minutes and it would take about that long to get there.

"Rin, wake _up!_" Kagome grabbed Rin's bedspread, yanking it off the now wide-eyed girl and dumping it rather unceremoniously on the floor.

"I didn't do it!" Rin yelled, seemingly out of habit.

"We have class in 15 and Sango and I will leave without you if you're not ready in 2 minutes."

"Oh." Suddenly Rin was everywhere at once, snatching the clothes from Kagome's outstretched hand, yanking them on as she scrambled for the bathroom. Kagome had to hand it to the girl; she could multitask. She practically the living manifestation, for that matter.

Shortly thereafter, all three girls were hurrying out the door and off to class.

"If I fail this semester, I'm blaming you Miroku."

"Yeah, yeah quit your grousing." The two were again sitting in the dance studio, this time well away from the door. Watching some of the dancers stretch alone or in small groups, they were becoming very aware of how unsuited for this class they really were. One girl in the corner, who had bright green eyes and her flame-red hair in pigtails, was easily doing double and triple turns while listening to something on her iPod. A group of three gigglers closer to the bleachers were sitting on the floor, doing forwards splits with their feet touching to form a triangle, pulling each other as close to flat as possible. Kikyo sat in the corner, watching them all.

Everyone close to the door jumped as the doors crashed open and three breathless girls practically fell through the door. Inuyasha was honestly not a bit surprised to see Kagome among them. She and the other two quickly moved to set their bags down.

Kikyo rose. "We'll now that we're all here, let's do some warm-ups across the floor."

As they all lined up, Inuyasha found himself and Miroku behind Kagome and her friends.

"Something basic. Six-step-turns."

_Huh?_ "Miroku, what the hell is a six-step-turn?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Great."

"It's a rather easy turn sequence across the floor." Both guys turned to see Kagome and the other two looking straight at them.

"Pardon?"

"It is literally six steps in preparation for a turn."

Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other. "Okay? And?"

"Here watch." Kagome took a step to the side and began to count to eight slowly. The second time through, she started taking steps in time with the counting, crossing on this count, bending her knees on that count, and finally going up onto one leg to spin an easy double turn for the last two counts.

"Like that."

"Um yeah didn't really follow that."

"Kagome, you're next!"

"Oh darn. Just watch again, okay?" Without another word, she moved to the front of the line, immediately performing the movement again in time with the other dancers moving across the floor. Inuyasha knew he was in trouble. Most of these people looked like they could do this in their sleep, and had probably known the steps for years.

"Miroku, we're screwed."

"Oh yeah."

The number of people in front of them was quickly diminishing with every eight-count. Suddenly Kagome was next to him, telling him to watch her feet. In his desperation, he did. He matched her steps. When the turn came, she told him to just balance and not try to turn. He followed her advice and before he knew it, they were across the floor. He looked back to see one of her friends, the one with the long ponytail and exotic face, doing the same with Miroku.

Relief washed over him. He had been saved. And then relief turned to humiliation. He hadn't been able to do one easy step without this girl's help.

"You know, you're a real natural!" Kagome said, smiling kindly.

Before he could stop himself, he sneered, "I didn't ask for you're help. I could have managed fine on my own."

Kagome froze. After a moment in which Inuyasha desperately wished he could go back in time and take back the words, she answered in kind.

"Oh my mistake," she growled sarcastically. "You just looked so helpless, I figured you would appreciate a little help. Guess I was wrong. I won't attempt to show you anything anymore since you _obviously_ know everything already." With that, she turned on her heel, walking back to her place in line.

Inuyasha was about to shout something very rude at her back, when a loud yell and a sound like a gunshot erupted behind him. He turned, along with the rest of the class, to find a semi-conscious Miroku on the floor with a blissful look on his face and Kagome's friend stalking away from him, her eyes screaming murder. Every student in her path promptly cleared out, save Kagome and the other girl. Sango took her place with them, glaring straight in front of her. The other two eyed her before returning their focus to the class.

The music stopped. Kikyo strode forward, eyed Miroku, and looked at Inuyasha. "Mr. Takahashi, would you please escort Mr. Houshi outside for the remainder of today's class. I will not tolerate sexual harassment in this dance studio." Inuyasha dubiously picked Miroku up and threw him over his shoulder fireman-style. "And Mr. Takahashi?" Inuyasha turned back toward the professor. "Please, let him know that one more such action in this class will earn him an automatic fail and suspension from the class for the remainder of the semester. And please also know, failing my class will look exceptionally bad, no matter what his major is." She promptly turned away striding purposefully back to the stereo, dismissing him as simply as that.

Grumbling, he carried Miroku out of the studio. As the door was closing, he turned back to catch one last glimpse of Kagome as the music started again and she began the combo across the floor. And then the door snapped shut, leaving him alone with his useless waste of space of a best friend.


End file.
